Belarus

Republic of BelarusRespublika Byelarus'

republic

Belarus as the 2000 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 108 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalMinsk

Position53 00 N, 28 00 E

Area207,600 sq km

LocationEastern Europe, east of Poland

Populationas each edition published it

10.37 million July 2000 est. · 10.37m in 1992

Population growth% a year

-0.17% 2000 est. · 0.34% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 36.7 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

68 years 2000 est. · 70.73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.25 children per woman 2000 est. · 2.1 in 1992

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

14.63 deaths per 1,000 live births 2000 est. · 20 in 1992

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$5,300 1999 est. · $5,890 in 1994

GDP real growth% a year

1.5% 1999 est. · -13% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord.

Geography

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

18 fields

Land useshare of 207,600 sq km

arable land 29%permanent crops 1%permanent pastures 15%forests and woodland 34%other 21% (1993 est.)irrigated 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

207,600sq km

land: 207,600 sq kmwater: 0 sq kmslightly smaller than Kansas

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Highest point

346m

Dzyarzhynskaya Haralowest point: Nyoman River 90 m

Land boundaries

3,098km

border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Location

Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates

53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references

Commonwealth of Independent States

Climate

cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Terrain

generally flat and contains much marshland

Natural resources

forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas

Natural hazards

Environment - current issues

soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine

Environment - international agreements

party to:: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:: Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Geography - note

landlocked

People

15 fields

Population

10,366,719

(July 2000 est.)growth rate: -0.17% (2000 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2000 est.)

Birth

9.27Death

13.96Net migration

3.01

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2000 est.)68

61.83 · 74.48

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1989 est.)98%

99% · 97%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

Byelorussian 77.9%Russian 13.2%Polish 4.1%Ukrainian 2.9%other 1.9%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 19% (male 982,959; female 942,062)
15-64 years:: 68% (male 3,411,684; female 3,614,453)
65 years and over:: 13% (male 466,929; female 948,632) (2000 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.49 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.88 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Belarusian(s)
adjective:: Belarusian

Religions

Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

Languages

Byelorussian, Russian, other

Government

Republic; President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18 November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997)

18 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

85%

Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum)

Country name

conventional long form:: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form:: Belarus
local long form:: Respublika Byelarus'
local short form:: none
former:: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code

Government type

republic

Capital

Minsk

Administrative divisions

6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad);
Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk)

note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses

Independence

25 August 1991 (Belarusian Supreme Soviet declaration of independence from the Soviet Union)

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - represents Minsk liberation from German occupation

Constitution

30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996

Legal system

based on civil law system

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government:: Prime Minister Sergey LING (acting since 18 November 1996, confirmed 19 February 1997);
First Deputy Prime Minister Vasiliy DOLGOLEV (since 2 December 1998);
Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir ZAMETALIN (since 15 July 1997), Ural LATYPOV (since 30 December 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998)
cabinet:: Council of Ministers
elections:: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum);
prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results:: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%

note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; eight appointed by the president and 56 indirectly elected by deputies of local councils for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; note - present members came from the former Supreme Soviet which LUKASHENKO disbanded in November 1996)

elections:: last held May and November-December 1995 (two rounds, each with a run-off; disbanded after the November 1996 referendum; next to be held NA)
election results:: after the November 1996 referendum, seats for the Chamber of Representatives were filled by former Supreme Soviet members as follows: PKB 24, Agrarian 14, Party of Peoples Concord 5, LDPB 1, UPNAZ 1, Green World Party 1, Belarusian Social Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, independents 61;
58 of the 64 seats in the Council of the Republic have been appointed/elected

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president;
Constitutional Court, half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives

Political parties and leaders

Agrarian Party [Aleksandr PAVLOV, acting chairman];
Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman];
Belarusian Green Party or BPZ [Mikalay KARTASH, chairman];
Belarusian Labor Party or BPP [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, chairman];
Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA, chairman];
Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Social Sports Party or BSSP [Aleksandr ALEKSANDROVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV];
Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman];
Ecological Party or BEP [Liudmila YELIZAROVA, chairperson];
Liberal-Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman];
Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord or UPNAZ [Dmitriy BULAKOV, chairman];
Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman];
Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA];
Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman];
Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]

International organization participation

CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Valery TSEPAKO
chancery:: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:: [1] (202) 986-1604
FAX:: [1] (202) 986-1805
consulate(s) general:: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Daniel V. SPECKHARD
embassy:: Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk
mailing address:: use embassy street address
telephone:: [375] (17) 231-5000
FAX:: [375] (17) 234-7853

Flag description

red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band;
a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red

Economy

31 fields

Real growth rate

1.5%

(1999 est.)industrial production growth: 8% (1999 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

295%

(1999 est.)

Unemployment rate

2.3%

officially registered unemployed (December 1998); large number of underemployed workers

Population below poverty line

22%

(1995 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(1998 est.)

agriculture 23%industry 28%services 49% (1998 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$4 billionExpenditures

$4.1 billion (1997 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $180 million

Electricity

fossil fuel 99.89%hydro 0.11%nuclear 0% · other 0%

Electricity production

21.893 billion (1998)Electricity consumption

28.66 billion (1998)Electricity exports

2.3 billion (1998)Electricity imports

10.6 billion (1998)

Economy - overview

Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO re-imposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise.

In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal.

Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $55.2 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $5,300 (1999 est.)

Labor force

4.3 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation

industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%

Industries

metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, TV sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators

Agriculture - products

grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Exports

$6 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities

machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs

Exports - partners

Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998)

Imports

$6.4 billion (c.i.f., 1999)

Imports - commodities

mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998)

Debt - external

$1.1 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$194.3 million (1995)

Currency

Belarusian rubel (BR)

Exchange rates

Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (2nd qtr 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996), 11,500 (yearend 1995)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Mobile cellular

8,000

(1999)

Internet users

(1999)

Fixed lines

2.537 million

(1997)

Telephone system

the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly

domestic:: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network;
waiting lists for telephones are long;
local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor;
intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998);
Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems;
an inadequate analog system remains operational
international:: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE) and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL);
three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine;
worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure;
additional analog lines to Russia;
Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations

Radio broadcast stations

AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios

3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations

17 (1997)

Televisions

2.52 million (1997)

Transportation

8 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

1,524 to 2,437 m

under 914 m

914 to 1,523 m

Paved 36Unpaved 82

Networkskm

Highways

63,355Railways

5,563

Highways: paved: 60,567 km · unpaved: 2,788 km (1998 est.) · Railways: broad gauge: 5,563 km 1.520-m gauge (894 km electrified)

Railways

total:: 5,563 km
broad gauge:: 5,563 km 1.520-m gauge (894 km electrified)

Highways

total:: 63,355 km
paved:: 60,567 km
unpaved:: 2,788 km (1998 est.)

Military

Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards

7 fields

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.2%

(FY98)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

none

Illicit drugs

limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market;
transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]

Central Intelligence Agency. “Belarus.” The World Factbook 2000. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/belarus/2000.

How to cite ← 1999 edition 2001 edition →